UNIT IV SOFTWARE DEFINED NETWORKS : SDN Architecture.

Characteristics of
Software-Defined Networking. SDN- and NFV-Related Standards. SDN Data
Plane. Data Plane Functions. Data Plane Protocols. OpenFlow Logical Network
Device. Flow Table Structure. Flow Table Pipeline. The Use of Multiple Tables.
Group Table. OpenFlow Protocol. SDN Control Plane Architecture. Control Plane
Functions. Southbound Interface. Northbound Interface. Routing. ITU-T Model.
OpenDaylight. OpenDaylight Architecture. OpenDaylight Helium. SDN
Application Plane Architecture. Northbound Interface. Network Services
Abstraction Layer. Network Applications. User Interface.

SDN Architecture:

In traditional networks, the control and data plane are embedded together as a
single unit. The control plane is responsible for maintaining the routing table of
a switch which determines the best path to send the network packets and the
data plane is responsible for forwarding the packets based on the instructions
given by the control plane. Whereas in SDN, the control plane and data plane
are separate entities, where the control plane acts as a central controller for
many data planes.

There are many approaches that lead to the development of today’s Software
Defined Networks(SDN). They are:
 Forces
 4D approach
 Ethane

FORCES(Forwarding and control element separation):

 The idea of separation of data plane(forwarding element) and control

plane was first proposed by FORCES. It is said that hardware-based
forwarding entities are controlled by a software-based control plane.
FORCES can be implemented in two ways:
1. The forwarding element and control plane are located within the same
network device
2. The control element is taken off the device and placed in a separate system.

4D approach:

The 4D approach has four planes that control

 Decision
 Dissemination
 Discovery
 Data
It follows three principles:

 Network-level objectives: The objectives should be stated in terms of the

whole network instead of individual devices. So that there won’t be any need
to depend on proprietary devices.
 Network-wide view: Decisions should be made based on the understanding
of the whole network’s traffic, topology, and events. Actions should be taken
based on considering a network-wide view.
 Direct control: The control plane elements should directly be able to control
the data plane elements. It should have the ability to program the forwarding
table on individual devices.

Ethane: Ethane specifies network-level access of users which is defined by

network administrators. Ethane is the exact forerunner of Software Defined
Networks(SDN)

Principles of Ethane:
 High-level policies should inspect the network
 Routing should follow High-level policies.
 There should be a connection between packets and their origin in the
network
Characteristics of Software
Software is defined as a collection of computer programs, procedures, rules,
and data. Software Characteristics are classified into six major components:
Software engineering is the process of designing, developing, testing, and
maintaining software.
The characteristics of software include:
1. It is intangible, meaning it cannot be seen or touched.
2. It is non-perishable, meaning it does not degrade over time.
3. It is easy to replicate, meaning it can be copied and distributed easily.
4. It can be complex, meaning it can have many interrelated parts and features.
5. It can be difficult to understand and modify, especially for large and complex
systems.
6. It can be affected by changing requirements, meaning it may need to be
updated or modified as the needs of users change.
7. It can be affected by bugs and other issues, meaning it may need to be
tested and debugged to ensure it works as intended.

Defined Networking:
The physical separation of the network control plane from the forwarding
plane, and where a control plane controls several devices.

Software Defined Networking (SDN) :

SDN is a networking architecture which aims to improve overall network
performance and make networks agile and flexible by enabling a dynamic and
programmatically efficient network configuration. SDN is a technology that
separates control plane management of network devices from underlying data
plane that forwards network traffic in order to enable more automated
provisioning and policy-based management of network resources.
Basically, SDN makes network programmable by separating system that is
going to decide that where should traffic be sent i.e., control plane from
underlying system that pushes packets of data to a particular destinations i.e.,
data plane. SDN offer its users a way to managed network services with help of
software that makes networks centrally programmable, and allowing it for faster
configuration. Software Defined Networking enables enterprises and service
providers to respond quickly if business needs and requirements are changing
which ultimately improves network control.
2. Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) :
NFV is a network architecture which aims to accelerate service deployment for
network operators and reduce cost by separating functions like firewall or
encryption from dedicated hardware and moving them to virtual servers,
collapsing various functions into a physical server, which ultimately reduces
overall cost. NFV allows various network operators to implement network policy
without being taken care of where to place functions in network and how to
route traffic through these functions.
It is a way to virtualize network services, such as routers, firewalls, and load
balances, that have traditionally been run on computer hardware whose
interface is controlled by proprietor (proprietary hardware) and allows network
services to be hosted on virtual machines. Virtual machines have a hypervisor,
called a virtual machine manager, by which multiple operating systems can
share a single hardware processor. It will deliver high-performance networks
which have greater scalability, elasticity, and adaptability at low costs as
compared to those networks which are built from traditional networking
equipment. So it comes to overcome drawback of traditional, custom-designed
network equipment and reduces need for dedicated or proprietary hardware to
deploy and manage networks.
SDN DATA PLAN:
The data plane is a part of a network through which user packets are
transmitted.

It is a theoretical term used to conceptualize the flow of data packets

through a network infrastructure.

It is often included in diagrams and illustrations to give a visual

representation of user traffic.

The data plane is also known as the user plane, the forwarding plane or the
carrier plane.

Software-defined networking (SDN) is the separation of the control functions from the
forwarding functions, which enables greater automation and programmability in the
network.

It is often paired with network function virtualization (NFV), which separates network
functions from hardware in the form of virtualized network functions (VNFs).

SDN enables cloud-like computing within a network. This enables network engineers
and administrators to respond quickly to changes in business requirements through a
centralized control console that is abstracted from the physical hardware of the network.
In other words,
 SDN creates a centralized brain for the network that can communicate and command
the rest of the network. SDN is used to create virtual overlay networks; software-defined
networks that sit on top of the physical hardware infrastructure

Architecture:
The three layers in an SDN architecture are:

 Application: the applications and services running on the network

 Control: the SDN controller or “brains” of the network
 Infrastructure: switches and routers, and the supporting physical hardware

To communicate between these layers, SDN uses northbound and

southbound application program interfaces (APIs) where the
northbound API communicates between the application and the control layers
and the southbound API communicates between the infrastructure and
control layers.
Northbound APIs:

Applications using an SDN rely on the controller to tell them what the status
of the network infrastructure is so that they can know what resources are
available.

Additionally, the SDN controller can automatically ensure application traffic is

routed according to policies established by network administrators. The
applications talk to the control layer via the northbound APIs and tell the layer
what resources the applications need, and their destination.

The control layer orchestrates how the applications are given the resources
available in the network. It also uses its intelligence to find the optimal path for
the application in the context of its latency and security needs.

Northbound APIs are often RESTful APIs. Orchestration is automated and not
manually configured.

Southbound APIs:

The SDN controller communicates with the network infrastructure, such as

routers and switches, through southbound APIs.

The network infrastructure is told what path the application data must take as
decided by the controller.

In real time, the controller can change how the routers and switches are
moving data.

The data no longer relies on the devices and routing tables to determine
where the data goes. Instead, the controller’s intelligence makes informed
decisions that optimize the data’s path.

SDN Controllers
An SDN controller is the software that provides a centralized view of and control over the entire
network. Network administrators use the controller to govern how the underlying infrastructure’s
forwarding plane should handle the traffic.

The controller is also used to enforce policies that dictate network behavior. Network
administrators establish policies that are uniformly applied to multiple nodes in the network.
Network policies are rules that are applied to traffic that determines what level of access it has to
the network, how much resources it is allowed, or what priority it is assigned

. Having a centralized view of the network and the policies in place makes for simpler
management of the network that is more uniform and consistent.

The application, control, and infrastructure layers are kept separate in SDN
and communicate through APIs. Source: Open Networking Foundation

SDN Benefits
SDN offers a centralized, programmable network that can dynamically
provision network resources so as to address the changing needs of
businesses. It also provides the following technical and business benefits:

Direct programmability: SDN network policy is directly programmable

because the control functions are decoupled from forwarding functions, which
enables the network to be programmatically configured by proprietary or open
source automation tools, including OpenStack, Puppet, Salt, Ansible, and
Chef.

Centralized management: Network intelligence is logically centralized in

SDN controller software that maintains a global view of the network, which
appears to applications and SDN network policy engines as a single, logical
switch.

Reduced capex: SDN potentially limits the need to purchase purpose-built,

ASIC-based networking hardware, and instead supports pay-as-you-grow
models with its scaling capabilities. Most switches on the market support SDN
capabilities and software like OpenFlow (an SDN communications protocol).
Whether it is in a data center or other network, if the infrastructure contains
switches with SDN capabilities, they simply need to have the option activated.
A massive truck roll is not needed to rip and replace the infrastructure.

Reduced opex: The ability to automate the updates to the network’s software
means there is no need to rip and replace the whole infrastructure when
business needs or network demand necessitate a change. Additionally,
policies can be uniformly spread network wide, reducing the chance for
human error when updating the network. Automation takes over the
monotonous tasks from network administrators and operators, which reduces
the overall network management time.

Agility and flexibility: SDN can help organizations rapidly deploy new
applications, services, and infrastructure to quickly meet changing business
goals and objectives because whenever something new is created, a simple
update deploys it network-wide.

SDN Challenges
SDN is not without its downsides. As with everything in the IT industry, there
are security issues, scaling problems, and a lack of widespread industry
cooperation.

Security risks of centralized management: While this makes networking

easier, it is also a security risk. Centralized management is a single point of
attack and if it goes down, the whole network is affected.

SDN controller bottleneck: When there is only a single instance of an SDN

controller, it can become a bottleneck for a network with a large amount of
traffic, routers, and switches. There is simply too much to communicate with
for one instance of a controller.

No universally-accepted standard for northbound APIs: Without a

universally-accepted standard for northbound APIs, vendors and open source
organizations are making dissimilar APIs for their SDN controllers. This makes
application development difficult because, in order to interoperate with
different controllers, the developers have to make multiple versions of
applications.

SDN Use Cases

SDN software automation enables DevOps approaches including automated
testing and deployment changes to applications and virtualized portions of the
network. Smart buildings can also take advantage of SDN to handle the
wireless network that connects all of the devices within the building.

The virtualization principles that SDN introduced to the networking world can
also be used in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication for autonomous
driving. SDN software normally only covers a single data center, however, it
can extend over an enterprise’s entire campus. By using SDN technology, a
campus can simplify the wireless and wired network connections, whether it’s
WiFi or Ethernet, centrally manage them, and automate services.